The Musicians of Ma'alwyck's concert on Friday night was a sophisticated version of Smell-O-Vision.

Walking into the performance space, one was overwhelmed by the wondrous aroma of coffee, courtesy of several local coffee vendors, who offered a specially concocted brew for pre-performance tasting (and smelling).

This aroma was a sensory prelude to "The Kona Coffee Cantata" by Jerre Tanner, a one-act comic opera written in the 1980s as a response to J.S. Bach's "Coffee Cantata," and had many references to the joys and smell of coffee.

Appropriately enough, the genesis for the piece is in a Hawaiian coffee house. The piece uses the structure and instrumentation of Bach, but from there it is a wild stylistic ride, with a heavy reliance on George Frideric Handel.

This cantata has three characters. First to appear is Mr. Kua, sung exceptionally well by Jonathan Estabrooks. His first aria is pyrotechnic, reminiscent of the word painting in Handel's "Joshua" (substitute "raging" for "trembling"). He is a coffee plantation owner whose daughter, as well as his most valuable coffee beans, are missing.

Locks are prominent in this tale: locks from all over the world, which have been installed to prevent further loss of coffee beans. After much fumbling at unlocking these many locks, a bumbling character, Kimo, appears, who, unknown to Mr. Kua, is to be married to Kolea, Mr. Kua's daughter. For such an innocuous character, he has beautiful soaring vocal lines, sung well by Timothy Reno.

Last to appear is Kolea, beautifully sung by Sabrina Elyse Manna. Her entrance changed the dynamic of the piece. Dressed in a black power suit and heels, she was a contrast to the casual island dress and demeanor of the men. In fact, it seemed almost a feminist work from that point. As the men rhapsodized about coffee, flowers, and the aroma of coffee, she traveled to Honolulu and returned with wads of cash and purchase orders, as well as merchandizing plans (T-shirts, cups, and packaging). Indeed, as Kolea sings of settling down with Kimo, the men assume she is singing about having babies, while she is actually singing about opening local coffee shops.

The two male roles are reminiscent of Shakespearean rustic roles, and the rustic feel was continued in some of the ensemble singing, reminding one of "Acis and Galatea," Handel's pastoral opera.

In contrast to some of the silliness of the libretto, there is some nice instrumental writing – a florid flute part introduced Kimo, who sings legato lines as a contrast, and pizzicato strings helped us see and hear dripping droplets of rain, all ably played by the musicians. The only sour note was the use of a synthesized harpsichord, which contrasted badly with the acoustic instruments.